These win-win eateries will have both adults and kids clamoring for a dinner date.
Written by BRIENNE WALSH
PARENTS HAVE SUFFERED ENOUGH. We’ve done our time, balancing a slice of pizza and a stroller at a trampoline party place. Instead, let’s celebrate the places that work for both kids and adults. At these spots, you can do double dates with other families, show visitors the town or even sneak in a little quality time with your partner. Here are a few family-tested favorites, which also passed muster with my 8-year-old daughter and 6-year-old son.
Brochu’s Family Tradition
The kids are … running around the large courtyard that serves as a vestibule to the restaurant while sampling modified family-style menu items such as the cheeseburger, crispy potatoes and that addictive puffy bread that comes with the cheddar rillette.
Meanwhile, you are … sitting at an outdoor table, enjoying elevated Southern cuisine and fried chicken prepared by the restaurant’s Michelin-starred and James Beard Award finalist chef, Andrew Brochu. Have another 1946 Planter’s Punch, a frozen rum drink infused with pineapple and nutmeg, though all the cocktails here are well-crafted.
Henny Penny Art Space & Café
The kids are … doing an elaborate bespoke art project — they cost $14 and rotate every week — at paint-splattered tables. They can sip on a Unicorn Hot Chocolate replete with colorful marshmallows or nibble on a vegan donut, made fresh daily.
Meanwhile, you are … slumped over, taking a nap at the same table until the caffeine from your signature horchata latte kicks in, at which point you could really conquer the world. Or just respond to some text messages while you enjoy one of Henny Penny’s famous kolaches.
Starland Yard
The kids are … Do you have kids anymore? Because the last time you saw them, they seemed to have joined a community of other children who are now living in a shelter made of gigantic Jenga blocks on a piece of artificial turf surrounded by food trucks. The staff at those same food trucks will serve treats if your kids give the last name on your credit card (you create a tab when entering Starland Yard). Kids can also play cornhole, and in the summer months there is often a small, blow-up water slide or splash pad available on the weekends. Look for bouncy houses on special occasions such as St. Patrick’s Day, too.
Meanwhile, you are … sipping one of the regionally produced beers and taking your time to review the options at the space’s food trucks and their permanent eateries, which include Vittoria Pizzeria, Nixtate (known for flautas) and Uncle June’s (Savannah’s best toasted sandwiches), until you decide on exactly what you want to eat and drink. For the first time in five years.
The Flying Fish
The kids are … happily gnawing on fried shrimp while watching sports on the multiple screens or hanging out on the patio. Locally owned, The Flying Fish has layers of colorful decor perfect for playing I Spy.
Meanwhile, you are … scoring a deal with half-off peel-and-eat-shrimp, chicken wings or riblets, as happy hour starts at 3 p.m. here. You won’t miss the game, either, with all the flat-screen TVs. This is a perfect place for cheap drinks, updated takes on favorites (Lowcountry tacos, for example) and unwinding after a long week.
Tequila’s Town Mexican Restaurant & Tequila Bar
The kids are … stuffing their faces with unlimited tortilla chips while watching the server prepare guacamole tableside. The street tacos are a favorite of younger kids, while the older kids or teens will like the fajita quesadilla, arroz Texano, chicken chimichangas or sopa Azteca. For picky eaters, just leave off toppings like cilantro or chopped onions.
Meanwhile, you are … testing out some of the tequilas. The bar has more than 100 labels of tequila with an ever-changing menu of styles, from blanco to respado to añejo and extra-añejo. There are also mezcals and sotols. If you’re with a big group, pitchers of margaritas and other mixed drinks are available.
Little Duck Diner
The kids are … digging into a fancy waffle (chocolate chips! strawberries!) and sucking down a milkshake while playing with the miniature rubber ducky that came in your cocktail. Much on the menu will appeal to children — and a crisp, gourmet grilled cheese is something all generations can agree on.
Meanwhile, you are … dunking that grilled cheese into the restaurant’s signature summer Thai tomato soup and toasting the other adults with a Bellini. The retro interior design, inspired by dining cars and diners of the late 1920s and ’30s, makes even a family outing feel swanky.
Treylor Park Pizza Party
The kids are … literally having a pizza party with a classic pepperoni pizza from the menu, followed by playtime on the retro pinball machines in a little room set off from the dining area. And if you want to really blow their minds, let your kids order dessert: s’mores pizza or fried Oreos.
Meanwhile, you are … feasting on Treylor Park nachos grande and a Georgia mule to the accompaniment of live music on a Friday night while you marvel with your partner that you can’t remember the last time you heard an entire song without interruption.
Bull Street Taco
The kids are … hanging with you on the outdoor patio. They’re powering through chicken and cheese tacos and a juice box so that they can put in an order for the restaurant’s churros, which they plan on dipping in chocolate sauce. Hopefully they won’t get any chocolate on the friendly neighborhood dog at the next table.
Meanwhile, you are … putting in an order for the amazing queso — yes, it’s normal to fantasize about the chunks of chorizo in the cheese — and smiling because the weather is nice and your Tecate is cold.
Squirrel’s at Eastern Wharf
The kids are … running free with a slice of pizza in each hand on the lush green lawn right outside of the open-air restaurant, which is part of a new 54-acre development overlooking the Savannah River. They will marvel, too, when container ships pass by.
Meanwhile, you are … enjoying the live music and riverside views with those out-of-town friends who want to enjoy Savannah’s beautiful winter weather. At the end of the meal, don’t forget to take a group photo in front of the recently unveiled art installation — a sculpture with giant letters reading “SAV.”
Zunzi’s
The kids are … sipping hot cocoa inside a faux frosty “igloo” at Zunzibar, the bar next to Zunzi’s in the downtown Savannah and Tybee Island locations. (Make a reservation for the après-ski-themed igloos, available through Feb. 14.) Kids can nosh on the lekker spread, a platter with pita and dips like hummus, guacamole and chicken salad.
Meanwhile, you are … enjoying one of the seasonal cocktails, like Stifler’s Mom Shot with Jack Daniels Fire Whiskey, hot apple cider, whipped cream and cinnamon, or a caramel Irish coffee with Jameson Irish cream, butterscotch schnapps, coffee, whipped cream and caramel syrup.
